By Jones Gadama
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Malawians have vowed not to allow the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) to hold its intended demonstrations, because the wounds of 2019 are still fresh in the memory of every peace-loving Malawian.
The country still remembers the savage and destructive demonstrations that HRDC organized in 2019, when Malawi was literally put on fire.
Shops were looted, innocent people were beaten, roads were blocked, tyres were burnt, government buildings were attacked and property worth billions was destroyed.
It was not demonstration, it was destruction, and Malawians have not forgotten.
Today, the same HRDC which is facing deregistration wants to return to the streets. Malawians are asking one simple question: where was HRDC when Malawians suffered under the previous administration?
For five years, Malawians went through serious economic pain, fuel shortages, forex crisis, hunger and high cost of living, but HRDC was completely muted.
It never organized a single demonstration. It never spoke for the poor. It was silent when Malawians needed a voice.
Now that MCP is in opposition, suddenly HRDC has found its voice again. Malawians see through this selective activism and they will not accept it.
It is an open secret that in 2019, when MCP was in opposition, Lazarus Chakwera himself joined the destructive demonstrations organized by HRDC.
Those demos were political, designed to make the country ungovernable. Chakwera benefited from that anarchy and rode on it to power.
Today history is repeating itself. MCP is back in opposition and the same HRDC that burnt Malawi in 2019 wants to organize demos again.
The coincidence is too much to be ignored. Malawians are surprised that HRDC only becomes active when MCP is in opposition, but disappears when MCP is in government.
What Malawians want today is peace and tranquility. Under the leadership of His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, Malawians have chosen a path of rebuilding, reconciliation and economic recovery.
The country cannot afford another round of HRDC-induced anarchy.
Business people in Limbe, Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu still remember how their shops were looted in 2019. Minibus drivers still remember how their vehicles were burnt.
Ordinary Malawians still remember how they could not go to hospitals because roads were blocked by HRDC demonstrators.
This is why across the country, from Nsanje to Chitipa, Malawians are speaking with one voice: these intended demos should not occur.
Malawi was destroyed by HRDC once, and Malawians will not allow Malawi to be destroyed again.
The right to demonstrate is guaranteed in the Constitution, but it is not a right to destroy.
HRDC in 2019 showed that it does not know the difference between peaceful protest and savage destruction.
For that reason, Malawians have vowed to protect their peace.
If HRDC wants relevance, it should first apologize for the destruction of 2019 and explain why it was silent when Malawians suffered under Chakwera. Until then, Malawians say no to its demos.
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